Scholarly Research on Ethnic Relations in Estonia and Latvia: A Retrospective Overview

This chapter provides an overview of the study of ethnic relations in Estonia and Latvia over the last thirty years. It offers a heuristic model about how to understand the academic field writ large, characterizing it across three main focal points: attitudes and mobilization, policies and institutions, and external actors and geopolitics. It argues that the field has evolved largely from one focal point to another, and that each shift represents an interaction between how one focal point sets the stage for the next one. The chapter is intended as a literature analysis for both early stage and more established scholars to gain perspective on how scholarship on this topic developed.